Week 5 Part III · Architecture and Patterns 🎤 Student Project Presentation 1 · Proposal

Proposal Presentations and EF Core

Instructor lesson plan: lecture (2 h) and practice (2 h).

Learning objectives

Map domain entities to relational persistence with EF Core.
Explain DbContext, relationships, migrations, and query shape.
Present a project proposal with domain, use cases, architecture plan, and risks.

Tools this week

Entity Framework CoreSQL Server / PostgreSQLmigrationsproposal rubric

🎓Lecture · 2 hours

0:00-0:10	10 min	Proposal readiness checkReview what students must defend in the presentation slot.
0:10-0:35	25 min	DbContext and entity mapping DbContext as unit of database interaction. Entity configuration, keys, relationships, owned types.
0:35-1:00	25 min	Migrations and schema evolution Creating migrations, reviewing generated SQL, applying changes. Why database shape is an architectural artifact.
1:00-1:10	10 min	Queries and loadingTracking, no-tracking, includes, projection, and avoiding accidental over-fetching.
1:10-1:20	10 min	Break
1:20-1:45	25 min	Persistence boundaries Why EF entities should not leak into API contracts. Repository pattern preview and tradeoffs.
1:45-2:00	15 min	Presentation logisticsTiming, questions, tagged release, and written proposal note.

Common misconception to confront.

Students often think: EF Core removes the need to understand relational design.
Set it straight: EF Core automates mapping. The team still owns keys, relationships, constraints, indexes, and query cost.

Check for understanding

Why review generated migration SQL?

Because the migration changes the real database contract. A generated operation can drop data, miss an index, or encode the wrong relationship.

Why project query results into DTOs?

Projection limits data shape, avoids exposing persistence objects, and often produces better queries.

Key takeaways.

Persistence is part of the architecture, not a hidden detail.
Migrations are reviewable source artifacts.
Proposal quality depends on clear use cases and credible boundaries.

📚Reading & resources

EF Core documentation Official guide to mapping, querying, and migrations.
EF Core modelling Entity configuration, relationships, owned types, and keys.

🎤Student Project Presentation · 2 hours

The full practice slot is given to Student Project Presentation 1 · Proposal. Teams present and defend the chosen domain, use cases, initial domain model, planned architecture, planned database entities, technical risks, and development plan.

What each team presents.

Project domain, users, and motivation.
Main use cases and initial domain model.
Planned API, persistence model, and architecture style.
Expected design patterns, risks, and team plan.

Project integration (this week)

Apply proposal feedback to the project scope.
Add EF Core DbContext and first migration.
Document the approved architecture plan.